Holly Blue
by toonfreak
Summary: Karma is a funny thing. Holly Blue Agate is about to learn this...the hard way...
1. Chapter 1

Holly Blue Agate was a Gem of perfection.

Agates were always programmed this way. Things must be perfected by any means necessary, even if that meant getting a bit...harsh with whatever Gems they were stationed with.

If the Diamonds were devils, than Agates were demons. "An Agate terrifies..."-and indeed they would. They were a Diamond's lackey- a henchman. An Agate would flatter a Diamond in the most over-enthusiastic way, and then immediately turn a 360, and scream and abuse their underlings.

Holly Blue was the best at her job- and why shouldn't she be? She was an excellent example of the absolute, most perfect, Agate!

So, the day those Crystal Gem traitors trespassed right under her scent sponge, and her own Amethysts betrayed her- was not only a shameful day, but her LAST day as a proper Agate. The Amethysts now had black mail on Holly- an upper hand. They all threatened to either run the roost, or expose the massive mistake their abusive superior had created.

Her power over them had ended. They were threatening for her to act normal during Diamond visits, or face their wrath...in fact...Diamond visits were the only time they allowed Holly to roam anywhere. The rest of her existence was being spent in a supplies closet. A very underwhelming, small area compared to her previous grand office.

This is where she was now.

Holly Blue was currently sitting on top of an upside down bucket. It was uncomfortable and bumpy, but the current most comfortable place in the closet.

The Agate's thoughts began to wander as she occupied her time reading the various labels of cleaning products around the room.

This was horrendous.

This was miserable.

How the stars could she fix this? She had no way out! In the few instances she had been allowed to roam the Zoo, she noted that the hallways had become absolutely chaotic and filthy in her absence.

There were footprints, and garbage, and fights, and even some gambling taking place!

The door to the closet opened suddenly! The brutish Amethysts smirked down at Holly in her pathetic state.

"Diamond visit! Out you go!" The two purple Gems lifted Holly to her feet.

Being a husk of her former glory, the Agate was compliant and said nothing as she was dragged to the ship bay.

* * *

Holly acted the best she could as Blue Diamond exited her ship.

"My beautiful, radiant, Diamond! So nice to see you visiting our Zoo again so soon! It's always a pleasure!"

"Likewise." The massive leader looked down toward the Agate attempting to seem happy through her grief. "You always take such good care of preserving my sister's legacy Agate. I really do appreciate it."

Holly sweated nervously at the comment before she continued:"Well, shall we?" The blue Agate beckoned the leader to the inside of the building- hoping, no...PRAYING that the thing looked half-way decent.

It did not.

There was an audible gasp from both the Diamond and her Pearl as they witnessed the sad state the building had fallen into.

While the Amethysts and Jaspers were standing at attention properly, it was obvious that the place was in a state of disarray.

The floor was so filthy with footprints, tile was barely visible. There was graffiti written on the walls- some with the most foul language and curse words spewed upon it. Loose paper was strewn everywhere. Two humans were out of the containment area, and curiously poking at several shiny buttons near a doorway.

The final straw was a message- a most disrespectful message that greeted the great leader upon arrival. Someone had written: "Frack the shale-headed Diamonds!" In large letters on one of the most prominent walls.

Blue Diamond's face contorted into a horrific rage. She glanced down at Holly Blue- looking to murder.

All the color in the Agate's face drained. The Diamond gritted her teeth: "In...Pink's...Chambers...NOW!"

"Y-yes my gorgeous, radiant-"

"-NOW AGATE!"

Holly Blue squeaked in fear as she quickly trotted toward Pink's previous chamber. She could hear her underlings muffling snickers as she walked by...


	2. Chapter 2

This was it. The end.

What a horribly disrespectful way for an Agate to go!

As Holly Blue followed her massive leader to Pink's previous chamber, she wondered what her shattered remains would be harvested for.

Perhaps, she would become a weapon of some sort? At least she would be able to get her aggression out again- even if she was in constant pain and agony.

She really did hope her shards would be used for something significant. She rather not become a trivial object...like a power source or door opener...

"AGATE!" Blue Diamond's sudden booming voice made Holly jump in surprise!

They had arrived in Pink's room. Holly was so distracted with her own thoughts, she had failed to notice they had reached their destination.

As the Agate looked sadly up at her leader, she gave a Diamond salute and waited for her ultimate demise.

Blue Diamond glared daggers at her. The anticipation was almost worse than the conclusion itself-simply unbearable! Why didn't she just shatter her and get it over with already?!

The Diamond spoke: "NOW, there are only three conclusions I can assume with that horrendous, taboo, OBCENE sight I just witnessed- ONE: you are a traitorous rebel to the Diamond Authority; TWO: you have absolutely NO respect for Pink's legacy; or THREE..."

The leader calmed down a bit before continuing: "-you have lost control over my sister's Amethysts and Jaspers. I would like to ASSUME it's the third issue."

Holly Blue looked up at her leader, nodding in agreement- unnaturally silent.

"-that's what I thought." Blue Diamond sighed. "I wouldn't think you to do something so...OFFENSIVE after all your years of loyal service."

"Y-yes! Yes my Diamond! I'm glad you understand..."

"Indeed. A shame. You were always so excellent at keeping my sister's Zoo pristine too. I do hate to do this-"

Holly Blue squinted in anticipation...

...

...

...

...nothing happened. The Agate opened an eye to an incredibly confused Diamond.

The blue monolith inquired: "Are...you quite alright Agate? You have the most odd look about you..."

"Y-you're not going to shatter me?"

"SHATTER you! Goodness no! You're just being reassigned!"

Holly heaved a sigh of relief. Before relaxing a bit. "Do excuse me my Diamond! You gave me quite a fright!"

The Diamond gave a rare smile. "Not to worry. I do not have as big of a temper as Yellow. I always give Gems trial before shattering. No- I was merely suggesting sending you to a site with a less...AGGRESSIVE group of Gems."

"My Diamond?"

"Yes...perhaps you are loosing your luster a bit..." as the Diamond scratched her chin, Holly Blue winced slightly at the comment.

The leader continued: "Fortunately, we have a newly created set of platoons that could benefit from a grand Agate such as yourself!"

Blue Diamond smiled. "Yes, yes. I do believe you will thrive from this transfer Agate! I am re-assigning you to the R-L3 Kindergarten!"

Holly Blue's face contorted from relief into absolute horror.


	3. Chapter 3

The R-L3 Kindergarten.

Holly had heard the recent rumors...she had eavesdropped on the stories.

It was a newer Kindergarten-specifically, a RUBY Kindergarten.

As the Diamond's ship zoomed through the cosmos, Holly Blue looked out the window...reminding herself of the issues she had overheard.

Apparently, the drilling site had an unannounced abundance of some unknown extra substance, which the Ruby's gemstones liked...quite a lot!

...so much so, in fact- the resulting Gems injected in the area had evolved with an excess amount of energy!

The Agate groaned. What the stars had she gotten herself into?

* * *

As the ship landed, Blue Diamond and Holly stood in preparation for exit. As the door opened, there was only one Gem to greet the duo- a very flustered looking Peridot.

Strangely enough, she did not salute...the green Gem was too busy looking behind her shoulder, as if fearful of being followed by something.

Upon closer inspection, Holly Blue took note of the Peridot's form.

One of her limb enhancer arms was missing.

She had char and burn marks all over her body.

Several tufts of her hair had disappeared -as if yanked from her head.

The Peridot was also shaking violently. As the green Gem looked up at Blue Diamond, she spoke- a slight quiver in her voice: "Thank the Stars. You found an available Agate willing to take the job?"

"She is one of my best." The Blue Diamond smiled.

"Good. Good. Yes. May I please resume my tasks at the next Kindergarten now?!"

"Of course! That is what I promised you."

The Peridot nodded in relief before handing one of her own limb enhancer's fingers to Holly Blue.

The Agate took the thing- confused and slightly disgusted. It was obviously well loved, and absolutely filthy.

"Trust me. You're going to need it. I can get a replacement later." The Peridot nodded. It was not exactly common for a Kindergarten Technician to give away her own tech so willingly.

As Holly Blue stepped off of the ship, the Diamond simply stated: "We will be in contact! Best of luck to you Agate!"

...and with that, the door closed and the ship zoomed off.

* * *

Everything was happening so fast.

Holly Blue was grateful that she was far away from the blackmail of the Zoo.

...Still, she did wish her Diamond had given her more intel on this assignment, before simply dumping her off here...

As the Agate wandered into the eerily silent canyon of the Kindergarten, she couldn't help having the notion that she was being watched...

In a sudden burst of excitement, something incredibly heavy and scolding landed on top of the Agate!

Holly Blue yelped in surprise, as the unknown weapon yanked violently at her hair.

"WHERE'S GREENIE?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER?!"

Holly Blue ran frantically in a circle- desperately attempting to yank the painful thing off of her head, before becoming desperate- and head-butting the side of the canyon.

With a mighty "OOMPH!" A startled Ruby fell to the ground.

Holly stared at her, looking quite frazzled and surprised herself. "My word!" The Agate was appalled. "What is WRONG with you! Show some respect to your upper crusts!"

The Ruby stared at Holly- growling slightly, before lunging for her hair yet again!

The Agate was ready this time, and slapped the red Gem's face with such a force, that the small soldier's projectory was knocked back into the nearby cliff side.

Holly Blue knew how this type of discipline worked. This Ruby would now respect her- the soldier would FEAR her! This Gem would be shown an example of!

The Ruby spat sourly on the ground upon re-emerging from the canyon's cliff.

...and then, the red Gem smiled!

Why was she SMILING?!

"Heh. So it's a fight you want! Nice! I've been wanting a good brawl!" The Ruby seemed more amused than frightened.

In a sudden state of panic, Holly Blue withdrew her whip from her gemstone. "I don't wish to fight you Ruby- you must abide by what I say! Stop acting like a complete pebble and behave yourself!"

The red Gem, instead of obeying, lunged at the Agate once more.

Holly cracked her whip, and quickly wrapped the thing around the soldier- dissipating her form.

The Ruby's gemstone fell to the ground.

Holly Blue nodded in agreement. She could see why her Diamond needed her here. This soldier was borderline feral! The Agate bent over to pick up the fallen stone-

Something slammed into her right leg! Another Ruby! She attempted to shake the little Gem off, before feeling a heavy weight on her other leg!

Her feet felt like they were on fire! The Agate yelped in pain, before another molten weight jumped onto her back, and another onto her left arm- biting the thing with her sharpened canines.

The other soldiers followed suit, as both of her legs were bitten!

More and more appeared!

The last thing Holly Blue remembered before her form dissipated was being entirely covered in a pile of pain, red, sharp teeth, and molten fire...


	4. Chapter 4

When Holly Blue reformed she found herself in a make-shift cave.

It was incredibly dark and deep. The entire atmosphere reminded her of when she first emerged from the ground.

The only hint that the Agate was not alone were the drones of heavy breathing, a slight glimmer of red coming from a nearby gemstone's owner, and the fact that the cave in question was SWELTERING in temperature.

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!"

Holly Blue immediately regretted her outburst of frustration.

Apparently, the cave in question was HUGE, and completely filled to the brim with sleeping Rubies- HUNDREDS of them.

The little soldiers woke up with a start! Many of them had been sleeping in piles- every soldier with a built in gemstone flashlight immediately turned to the Agate- temporarily blinding her.

"Hey! You woke us up!"

"Yeah!"

"Pipe down newby!"

"The blue one reformed!"

Holly Blue was baffled! Apparently, these soldiers now saw her as one of their own- which would explain why her gemstone hadn't been smashed to bits.

"What the-?! I am NOT a lowly Ruby like YOU! I am a prestige Agate! I am ABOVE you! You must do what I say!"

"Pfffft!"

"Yeah right!"

"Your just a different colored Ruby!"

"-and tall!"

"You just like fighting- all of us do!"

"...But you lost!"

"She was the last one in the fight! She's in charge now!"

One of the Rubies pointed at another Ruby- still asleep- alone on a prominent rock in the cave. The flat rock was the highest in the massive room, and surrounded by various other rocks that were shiny and different interesting colors.

It was obvious that the pathetic pile of various rocks was meant to represent a throne of some-sort.

Holly Blue fumed in a rage. "THAT'S ENOUGH! YOU WILL ALL LISTEN TO ME OR I WILL REPORT THE LOT OF YOU TO THE DIAMONDS!"

The Rubies stared at Holly sarcastically.

"All the weird-colored Rubies ALWAYS say that!"

"YEAH!"

"You can't do it."

Holly Blue huffed! "OH YEAH?! WATCH ME! Where's your communication system?!"

"It's right here!" One of the Rubies dug under a pile of rocks, and lifted a partially-melted pile of shrapnel and wires. The soldier continued: "It only really does anything if you do this..."

To Holly's terror, the soldier proceeded to use a nearby rock to hit the machine- it emitted an odd groan as sparks flew from the thing.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! STARS! STOP THAT!" Holly Blue panicked.

The Ruby stopped.

"By the Diamonds! What is wrong with all of you! Did a bolder crush your skulls?! ...Are you defective?!"

The single Ruby that had attempted to make the machine work for her new friend began to tear up with grief. "That- THAT was MEAN! That was a MEAN thing to say! I was jus- trying to HEEEEEEELPPPPPP!" As the small red Gem began to cry, her other friends attempted to comfort, and coax her into a better mood:

"I'm sure the Blue Ruby didn't mean it!"

"Yeah!"

"She just appeared today- she don't know any better! She's still dumb an' stuff!"

"Yeah!"

"Yeah...still dumb!"

"She doesn't know about feelings yet!"

The Agate's rage just increased ten fold with these comments. "STOP TALKING ABOUT ME LIKE I'M NOT HERE! ...AND YOU ARE THE IMBECILES! NOT ME!"

"Pipe down newby!"

"Yeah dumb-dumb!"

"Go back to sleep dumb-dumb!"

"If you cause any more trouble, you're gonna get poofed again!"

A few minutes went by, before the din settled and the Rubies began to sleep again.

Holly Blue knew only two things- she had to get off this planet, and she had to find a way for this massive barge of Ruby soldiers to respect her.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, the Rubies piled out of the cave in friendly droves.

Not knowing what else to do, Holly Blue followed.

The soldier that had (apparently) won the previous day's brawl, climbed on top of a large bolder in order to speak. She had won- fair and square. It was her turn to choose the day's activity!

"Ok! We have a few options because the weather today is good!" The leader nodded to herself. "We can either scout the area, or play a game!"

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard! Of course you should practice scouting the area! You're supposed to be training as foot soldiers!" Holly Blue hollered through the crowd, catching the attention of every other Gem in the area.

"If the dumb blue wants to scout, I wanna play a game!"

"Yeah!"

"Me too!"

"I don't wanna be mean like HER."

The Ruby leader piped up: "Let's put it to a vote! Who wants to play a game?"

All the Rubies raised their hands.

"...and who wants to scout?"

Holly made a feeble attempt. The crowd glared at her smugly.

"Yay! The mean one lost!"

"Serves you right for making CSX2 cry!"

"All righty! Looks like the game won! I want you all to find the most interesting rock you can! Whoever finds the most impressive rock will become leader tomorrow!"

"Awesome!"

"I hope my rock gets added to the leader pile!"

This...was...so...STUPID. The Agate couldn't imagine having a different leader every day- much less a leader getting chosen by something as idiotic as retrieving a stupid rock. Still, if she could find a nice enough stone, perhaps the group would finally listen to her!

"Alright! Everyone ready?! On your mark...get set...GO!" The leader cheered as the small soldiers scattered like ants!

A spree of hunting followed for many hours among the large group.

Holly Blue had no clue what type of stupid rock the smaller Gem would like the most- she managed to find a large-ish rock, a polished river stone, and something small and transparent, but beautiful and marble-like. She figured a verity would be better.

The game did not end until all 327 red Rubies (and the new mean blue one) were accounted for.

Each Gem displayed their wares in front of themselves- puffing out their chests in pride!

The leader walked through the many lines of soldiers inspecting each and every stone.

She collected ones that caught her interest. If nothing else, they could be utilized for the special throne in the cave. As the leader passed Holly Blue, she gave her a very sour look, but also grabbed the river stone, and marble-rock.

Holly Blue felt slightly proud that her trinkets were worthy of the pile- even though she was obviously disliked. At least she had good taste!

* * *

"I have made my decision! The Ruby stated as she stood next to the now massive pile of beautiful stones. "Whoever chose THIS one has won my respect, and will become tomorrow's leader!"

The Ruby held up a small twig with a leaf on it.

"That's mine!" The small red Gem approached the leader in gratitude.

"WHAT?! THAT'S NOT A ROCK AT ALL! THAT'S AN ORGANIC PLANT PIECE!" Holly Blue was enraged at this idiotic injustice!

"Well, I DON'T CARE!" The leader stuck out her tongue. "I like the way it looks! It's pretty!"

"It shouldn't matter if it's pretty or NOT! Your bending the rules!"

"Well, I'm the leader TODAY, and I'm saying the rules can be bent! Congratulations Ruby!"

The owner of the twig beamed! "Thanks Ruby!"

The crowd cheered!

Holly Blue was left with her mouth agape.

The Ruby leader concluded: "Do not be sad Rubies! All the rocks I compiled here will be added to the cave's collection as well!"

The crowd cheered again!

"-now time to sleep! New leader- you lead the way!"

The twig Ruby paraded the massive crowd back to the cave, and took pride lying down on the prominent special rock as the others added new shiny things to the throne's collection.

Baffled, the Agate decided to ask a nearby soldier: "How long has this been going on for?"

"Hmm? You mean choosing a new leader every day? I don't know...years maybe? Almost everyone becomes the leader eventually...maybe if you get nicer, you can be leader too!"

The soldier joined her kin, and for the first time EVER, the Agate felt...incredibly isolated and alone.


	6. Chapter 6

The next morning, the Rubies gathered at the large bolder again.

The twig-Ruby looked nervous at all the glaring eyes. "Erm-h-hi everyone! Uh...I'm not-not sure how to choose the next leader for tomorrow...so...erm, I thought it would be best to just...I don't know...flip a coin or something?

"Are you kidding me?!" Holly Blue screamed from the distance.

Because there were no coins in the area, everyone flipped flat rocks to decide the winner.

The resulting Ruby cheered in triumph!

The twig-Ruby piped up again, and stated that she would be quite happy just watching the clouds today.

The others nodded in agreement, before lying in the dirt and attempting to visualize shapes in the sky.

* * *

Holly Blue could not believe how much time she was wasting as the days went by.

If she tried to reason her superiority, she would be shunned as being hostile.

If the Agate attempted to fight back- the Rubies would simply overpower her in numbers, and believe her to be brawling for fun.

Perhaps the most frustrating aspect of the entire situation though, was the lack of communication with the outside world, and the way a new leader was chosen on a daily basis.

Whoever won the brawl would be leader.

Whoever could stand on one leg the longest would be leader.

Whoever was the shortest would be leader.

Whoever could stare the longest would be leader.

It was infuriating! Holly Blue could NOT wrap her mind around the abstract way these soldiers functioned...

* * *

Hope began to dwindle for the Agate. She figured she would be trapped on this forsaken rock for a LOOOOONG time.

The Gem felt a sense of frustration. She was currently sitting on a rock...as far away as possible from the massive crowd of idiots.

Today's activity was chasing a lizard-looking creature anyway. Holly knew she wasn't remotely fast enough to catch it, so why bother?

As the Agate huffed to herself, remembering the good 'ol days of power and prestige, a small Ruby turned the corner of the canyon.

The red Gem spotted Holly, and ran toward her with relief! "There you are Dumb Blue! The animal was caught! When we did a head count, you had disappeared! Everyone is looking for you!"

"Leave me alone."

The Ruby tilted her head in confusion. "What's wrong Dumb Blue? You look sad!"

"Of COURSE I'm upset! I'm stuck here, on this miserable planet, with all you clods, and no contact with the outside world! No one here will listen to me, or respect me...STARS!" Holly Blue moped to herself.

The Ruby felt rather deflated for being called a "clod" again, but perhaps she could do something to cheer the Gem up? The soldier approached Holly Blue and (without warning) decided to hug her leg.

The Agate was surprised by this gesture, and was going to kick the little moron into next Tuesday...but decided to let the Gem be. This was the most anyone had listened or sympathized with her during this entire fiasco.

"There!" The Ruby let go and smiled up at Holly. "Whenever I feel sad, I always get better after a biiiig hug!"

As much as the Agate hated to admit it, it did feel nice being cared about again.

"Now come on Dumb Blue! Everyone's worried about ya!" The small Ruby beckoned for the Agate to follow her.

* * *

Sure enough, once they regrouped with the rest of the crowd, there was an immediate din among the soldiers.

"Hey look! She found Dumb Blue!"

"Where were you Dumb Blue?! We were worried!"

"Don't do that again!"

"We thought you had been hurt!"

"Yeah!"

"Dumb Blue is found!"

The Agate felt slightly overwhelmed as she was surrounded by the shorter Gems- whom were all displaying relief and sympathy. She hadn't really realized it until now, but the soldiers seemed to put a great importance on doing a head count after each day's activity.

Despite her nasty and overly-negative attitude, the group of Rubies still seemed to count her as part of the herd. They still cared about her...even if she did call them names...or smack them...or yell at them...

She had always felt that fear was her best friend to control the Gems around her- but not even her own Diamond had ever displayed this level of empathy.

For the first time in a LONG time, Holly Blue smiled.


End file.
